


The Vanished

by Air and Dust and Sunlight (AirAndDustAndSunlight)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 13:11:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18829333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AirAndDustAndSunlight/pseuds/Air%20and%20Dust%20and%20Sunlight
Summary: We all know the Avengers side of things, but what about ordinary people? What happened to them after Thanos snapped? What about the children left orphaned, or high school sweethearts who didn't both vanish. People who actually died as a result of the mass vanishing? How did they cope?





	The Vanished

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't anything spectacular I know. I didn't really write very compelling characters, but this is really just something I wrote on a whim. I may write more in the future, I'm not sure, but for now just take it I guess.

He’d finally asked her out. They’d known each other since they were 6, and now, ten years later, he’d finally worked up the courage to ask her on a date. Dinner and a movie. Nothing crazy, not even really anything new for them. They’d done this before, just not as a couple. Could they even call themselves a couple yet? He wasn’t sure, but he hoped they could. 

‘You look so handsome! Jen will be so impressed you actually cleaned up for once!’ His mother said as she moved to ruffle his hair. Sam blushed and ducked out of the way.

‘Its just a date, it’s no big deal’ he mumbled. 

‘Well, date or not make sure to be home by midnight, and tell Jen I said hi!’ she yelled as Sam walked out the door.

‘I will! Be back later!’

* * *

 

 _Should I wear a dress, or stick to jeans?_ She wondered. Jeans were more comfortable, and she’d always preferred comfort over style. Besides, it wasn’t like she was meeting Sam for the first time. This was just the first time they’d labeled it a date. She couldn’t tell you why classifying it as a date made it seem like such a big deal, but somehow it did. She didn’t bother to put makeup on, she just tied her hair up in a ponytail. She heard the doorbell ring, and heard her dad answer it. She was sure he was embarrassing Sam, but she wasn’t concerned, they’d known each other a long time. She grabbed her purse and walked downstairs.

‘Hey Sam’ he smiled at her.

‘Hey Jen, you look really nice.’

‘Thank you for noticing’She laughed. 

‘You two have fun, but not too much! I want her home by 11:30’ her dad said, ushering them out the door.

‘Yes sir.’ Sam replied. 

‘See you later dad, Bye mom!’ She said as the door closed behind her.

* * *

 

They’d decided to catch a movie first. They’d decided on a popular action movie neither of them had seen yet. Sam couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Jen was. She didn’t look any different than she normally did, not really, but somehow she was glowing today. He listened to her excitedly theorize about the movie, and somehow fell even more in love. She was the smartest person he knew, the most caring, the most perfect. He was lucky to be by her side every day.

They found their seats, and waited as the advertisements played. Jen began eating her popcorn, but Sam set his aside until the movie started. He stole one last glance at Jen before the lights dimmed and the movie started. She was smiling as she reached for another mouthful of popcorn. He chuckled to himself and turned to face the screen. The lights had only just begun to dim when the screams broke out.

* * *

Chaos. Thats the only thing she could think of to describe what was happening. She could hear the crashing of cars just outside of the theatre. It sounded like a huge collision. She heard panicked children crying, and panicked parents calling out for missing children. Jen watched as she saw a woman a few rows in front of her turn into dust.

_What the hell?_ She thought. She reached for Sam, hoping his hand would ground her. But there was nothing but air. She turned to where Sam had been sitting, but all that greeted her was dust. She let out a choked sob. 

‘Sam? Sam?!’ She called, hoping maybe he’d just gotten lost in all the confusion. She ran out of the theatre, only to see more people turning to ash and dust all around her. Outiside wasn’t any better than the inside had been. Cars were stopped in the middle of the road, people looking for their loved ones in desperation. Buildings were on fire, ash was everywhere. She screamed and sobbed as she watched a helicopter crash into a building. Frantically, she reached for her phone, only to realize she’d left it in her seat. She quickly ran back in, luckily, it was exactly where she’d left it. She quickly dialed her father’s number, she prayed that whatever was happening to so many people, hadn’t happened to him. She cried with relief when the line connected.

‘Jen?! Oh my god, are you ok?’ He sounded frantic, she started nodding before she realized he couldn’t hear her.

‘Y-yeah I’m ok, b-but Sam…’ she couldn’t finish, she dropped to her knees and chocked in her sobs.

‘Hey, hey. Its ok baby, I’m coming to get you. Stay put.’

‘Mhm’

The next few hours went by in a blur. Her dad had found her and they held each other for a long time. She learned her mother was one of the victims of… whatever this was. She called Sam’s mother, she didn’t know if she should be relieved that she was alright, especially after she had to give her the news that he was gone. Jen promised to visit when things calmed down, but who knows how long that would be. According to the news, this was happening all around the world. Trillions of humans, plants, and animals had turned to ash. No one knew what to do, this was a disaster on a scale that no one had prepared for. Jen and her dad just sat and watched the news, it probably wasn’t safe outside. Everyone had lost someone, a friend, a family member, a lover. There wasn’t a single person who hadn’t suffered a loss.

Many people were quick to blame the Avengers, but Jen thought they looked just as broken as the rest of the world. They felt they had failed, and from the looks of things, they had. But what was the point of putting the blame on them? They had lost too. Both the prince and princess of Wakanda were gone, Falcon too. Tony Stark and Spiderman were still missing. They didn’t come out of this unscathed.

Pepper Stark had started donating money to help as much as she could. People would be in need of food and shelter. Jen thought of all the children who were now orphans, or the parents that had lost their children. It was devastating. She was lucky she still had her dad, but the thought of all the less fortunate people broke her heart. In that moment she wasn’t sure if the world would ever recover, if she would ever be ok after this. She wished she had been turned to ash too, then maybe she wouldn’t be suffering so much.

* * *

5 Years Later…

Jen had finally managed to reach a place where she wasn’t constantly depressed. She still thought of Sam and her mom all the time, but she felt like she could finally live again. She was still in school, and she had a girlfriend that she loved. She might even say she was happy for the first time in years. Her dad was doing ok too, had found a new job he loved. The world around them was still trying to move on, but it was gradually getting better. She visited the monument in her city. Even after 5 years, it was still difficult to see just how many people were gone. After visiting Sam’s name and her mothers, she went home. She had a date to get ready for.

‘Got a date tonight?’ Her dad asked, as she tied her hair up.

‘Yeah, Leah and I are going to dinner, I probably won’t be too late, I have tests to study for.’

‘Tell her I say hi.’ 

‘Will do. I really like her dad.’ She said, even as she glanced at an old photo of her and Sam. She allowed herself a moment to remember him, but she knew she had to move on sometime. 

‘I like her too. I’m glad you’re happy again.’ He smiled. Jen walked over the the couch where he was sitting, and gave him a quick peck on his head. 

‘I’ll see you later.’

 

The next day, the world went crazy again.

* * *

When he woke up, the first thing he noticed was that this was not the same theatre he had fallen asleep in. _Was that what happened? Did I fall asleep?_ Or maybe it was the same theatre, but there was graffiti covering the screen and the walls. He was surrounded by other confused people, as if they all came out of a collective coma at the same time. Jen wasn’t one of them. The seat next to him was empty. As he walked into the lobby, he noted that it looked like it had been abandoned. _What was going on?_ He pulled out his phone, he had to call Jen, and his mom, make sure they were ok. He didn’t notice the date, he was too frantically dialing Jen. The phone rang a few agonizing times before it finally connected.

'S-sam?’ Jen answered, she sounded breathless, as if on the verge of tears. Why would she be crying?

‘Jen? Are you ok?’ 

‘Oh my god, is it really you? Where are you I’ll come get you. You should call your mom, she’s, oh my god.’ Jen was really crying now, he could hear it. 

‘I-I’m at the movie theatre.’ Something wasn’t right, and it wasn’t just that Jen was crying. She sounded different too, older. But it had just been a few minutes at most, _right?_

‘ok, stay there, I’ll be there in a few minutes, ok?’

‘Ok.’They hung up. Sam looked at the time on his phone, but, how was that possible? 2023? _Thats not possible, its 2018? Isn’t it?_ He quickly dialed his mothers number. Her answer was almost instant.

‘Sam!’ She exclaimed, he could hear the tears in her voice.

‘Mom, hey.’

‘Where are you? Are you alright? Oh my god. Come home, please.’ She was sobbing. 

‘Jen’s coming to get me, I guess. I’ll be home soon, I promise.’ They hung up, and Sam was left more confused than ever. He found a bench to sit on, and waited. 

 

It didn’t take long, before Jen walked in. 

‘Sam?’ He looked up, and saw what looked like Jen’s older sister, but Jen didn’t have siblings. 

‘Jen?’ He could see the tears well up in her eyes, but he was too shocked and confused to do anything. She was taller, her hair was shorter. She looked older, she looked like she’d been through hell and somehow came out looking more beautiful than ever. Before he had any more time to process what was happening, he was crushed by Jen’s arms. He still didn’t know what was happening, but he hugged back, and he cried. Not for himself, but for his best friend, who had had to grow up without him. 

 

Over the next few days, he would learn they he was just one of trillions who had been turned to dust. Some people told him he was one of the fortunate ones, but he wasn’t so sure Waking up to find you’ve been gone for five years, that your mother was alone for five years, doesn’t seem fortunate to him. He learned that Jen was now dating a girl named Leah, and he was happy for her, he was. He couldn’t blame her for moving on, and even if she hadn’t, they were 5 years apart now. A 16 year old and a 21 year old wouldn’t work, even if they had been the same age just a few days ago. 

 

He went to the monument of the people who had vanished. Seeing his name on the list was jarring, evidence that it had happened to him. This was going to take some getting used to. He couldn’t imagine going to school and Jen not being there, but she was nearly done with college now. He’d learn to move on, just like she had. This was his second chance, and he was going to use it. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I may or may not write more, but let me know if you're interested!


End file.
